Bree Cullen ?
by KelseyCrazyGothGurl
Summary: Jane decided to let Bree live. Now the Cullens must take responsibilty for her, and help Bree make a new life. But can she do it before the Volturi come and interfere once again?
1. Chapter 1

Bree P.O.V

I watched Jane deliberate with bated breath. I couldnt believe the Cullen coven would offer to take responsibility for me, even though I'd been created to destroy them. The mind-reading red-head smiled at me. It completely changed his face - from worried, serious vampire, to humourous, relaxed, vampire. He laughed, and Janes head whipped around. I dont think _she_ was very humourous at the moment.

"So? Will Bree be allowed to stay with us?" Carlisle asked, his face calm.

Jane looked like she was having a bit of trouble deciding. Of course, it didnt show on her perfectly controlled facial expression, but there was something ... off. Like she didnt _want_ the Cullens to have another member, but wanted them to have the extra stress of looking after a - newborn? I still didnt like that word. I wasnt a baby. Suddenly I noticed the mind-reader nodding his head and whispering something to the human in his arms. I strained to hear what he was saying over Janes debate with the other three black cloaks.

"Jane doesnt like the idea of us having another member to add to our family. She doesnt want to risk making us stronger - I take it Aro and Caius dont want to either."

I didnt know who these people were, but I assumed they were Janes bosses. The red-head nodded discreetly. He reminded me of a ninja with all his secrecy - reminded me of Diego. At least he was avenged - again, thanks to the mind-reader.

"I have made my decision." Janes announcement startled me out of my thoughts.

"And your decision is...?" Carlisle enquired.

"The new-born may stay. But if she cannot be ..._tamed_ shall we say, within two weeks, we will be back to take care of her."

"Thank you Jane. We agree to your terms. Will you be coming to check or ... Something other?" Carlisle asked politely.

"We shall see. Now, I would like to go home. Farewell, Cullen family. I shall pass your messages to Aro." And she turned and glided back into the trees with her ... companions.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" I gasped out. It had happened. I was to stay with the Cullens. I was so relieved, though I could do without Jasper looking at me like I couldnt be trusted. Also, he was freaking me out.

"Jasper. You're freaking Bree out with your - angry look." The mind-reader said.

Jasper looked ashamed. "Sorry. I've worked with new-borns before, it's hard to trust them."

"And because you dont like them near me even though I _can_ look out for herself." This came from the dark-haired girl with the really clear voice. She walked up to Jasper and kissed his cheek. Then she walked over to me and helped me up.

"Hi. Im Alice Cullen." She smiled at me, and I couldnt help but smile back.

"Hello. Im Bree Tanner."

"I know." Alice laughed, then returned to Jasper.

"This is my - husband, Jasper Whitlock Hale. He's overprotective." Alice laughed, and Jasper smiled fondly at her. It completely transformed his face. He turned to me. "Im sorry for frightening you."

"I wasnt scared!" I lied.

"He can also feel your emotions and change them." Alice mentioned a bit too late, I thought feeling disgruntled. So Jasper had powers too.

"And I can see the future." Alice added.

The future! I was overwhelmed to say the least. So the psychic and the ...

"Empath." It was the mind-reader. "Im Edward Cullen. Mind-reader as you know." He smiled.

"Hi. Sorry 'bout that, but I didnt know your name. Thanks - about the empath thing." It was the perfect word. Psychic and Empath. I had to admit they made a good couple.

"Yes, they are." Edward said. "And let me introduce _my_ other half - Bella Swan." And he indicated the human girl.

I barely held back a gasp. I had been right before. They _were_ together. But how? Didnt he want her blood? It was unbearable. I would have gone on along this line of thought, but a voice interupted.

"Hello Bree. Yes, Im human. I would love to meet you properly, but I have to go. Carlisle?" She sounded, and looked worried.

"Oh, yes, Jacob. Im sorry Bree, I have to go. Esme will introduce the rest of the family and take you home. I'll see you soon."

He left, accompanied by Bella and Edward, who were holding hands. I still couldnt believe it. How could he bear it?

My thoughts were once again interupted, this time by Esme. "I am Esme Cullen, Carlisle's wife. This - " She indicated the blonde girl, "Is Rosalie Hale, and Emmett Cullen. They are together as well." So the blond girl and the buff guy were together, the psychic and the empath, the human and the mind-reader, and Carlisle and Esme. Wow.


	2. New Home

Bree P.O.V

As we ran back to where the Cullens lived, Esme filled me in on their lifestyle. Animals? I wasnt sure I could do that. I wondered if Riley knew the real reason their eyes were yellow ... But probably not, I decided. _She_ had lied to him about everything else, so why not that?

Esme also told me about Bella and Edward. She found it so romantic, and she said she was glad her son had finally found someone ... Son?

"So are you his birth-mother then?" I asked curiously. They didnt _look _especially alike, but their hair was almost the same colour.

Esme laughed. "No, no my dear. I am not his birth mother, it is only for appearances. Though I do love him like a son, and we are all family to each other, just not by blood."

I felt disoriented. This wasnt a _coven_. It was a _family._ A nice, welcoming, friendly, rather _strange,_ family. I was getting nervous. Was I good enough for these people? Would I really be able to change to their lifestyle by the time those ... Volturi people come back? I wasnt sure.

Suddenly we broke out of the trees and my eyes widened in wonder. In front of me was the biggest house I've ever seen - made mostly out of _glass._ Then I thought of something.

Wasnt this a bit, well _obvious_ for a family of vampires living among humans? And the sunlight would pour right in the glass walls, making it obvious that these very shiny, glittery, disco-ball people weren't human. I voiced my question to Esme, who laughed.

"No humans apart from Bella have ever been here in the daytime, my dear. Some humans came a little while ago for a graduation party - Alice loves parties - and that was at night. We were all very careful."

Oh. That made sense. Then something else broke in.

"They go to _school! _A _human_ school!" I was astounded. It made sense, but it had somehow never clicked before, how they all spent their days. I mean, it must be boring staying home all the time. And after all, why would they stay in human towns if they were just going to stay home?

Emmett was laughing. "Hell yeah we go to school. Its funny seeing how the humans look at us."

Alice agreed. "And we also only go on the rainy days. When its sunny, we pretend Carlisle and Esme have taken us all on camping trips. We usually pick rainy, overcast towns, when we move, so we can live as normal a life as possible."

"Of course, we can never live a real, normal life again." Rosalie said, sounding bitter. I looked over at her, suprised, and she looked angry, but also really upset.

"Dont you like being a vampire?" I asked, hoping she wouldnt bite my head off. She seemed like the type to do that.

She sniffed. "I like it just fine. I love being beautiful, having people watching me all the time. But I don't love the lifestyle." Emmett went over to her, and his arms snaked around her waist.

"Its okay babe. We'll be together forever." He murmured quietly to her, though of course we could all hear him.

I was intrigued. She didnt like the life of a vampire? I wanted to ask more, but I had the feeling she wouldnt react too kindly of I did. I had never thought of it from this perspective before. I mean, when the burning finally stopped and I realised what I was, what I could do, the only thing I was thinking of was how thirsty I was, and how awesome it was. I couldnt see how someone would not like this life.

I had just plucked up my courage to ask Rosalie why she felt like that, when Esme smiled at me and said, "Welcome home Bree. Come see your new house." And she beckoned me towards the front door.

I suddenly felt nervous again. _Home._ They were inviting me to share their home, treat it as my own. Would I be able to live up to their expectations? Could I ever be as good as this amazing family?


	3. First Hunt

Esme P.O.V

I watched Bree gazing around and my maternal instinct was so strong it nearly swamped me. She looked so young and scared and confused. I decided to make it my mission to help Bree adjust to her new life and family.

"Come inside and take a look around." I said, again gesturing towards the front door. "It'll be okay." I said gently, noticing her frightened expression. Did she think we would hurt her?

"Oh! I know, I just..." She trailed off.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Emmett can never contain his curiosity, I thought fondly.

"It's just - Thank you so, _so_ much! For all you're doing for me!" Bree burst out. "I don't know how I can ever repay you."

So that's what was troubling her. I wonder what her human story was - I get the feeling that it wasn't a happy one, and that just made me want to comfort and spoil her into oblivion. Everyone deserves to feel the love and happiness that surrounds us - especially in the Cullen family. Everyone should feel that they belong.

"That's alright. You don't need to repay us for anything. If there's anything we stand for, it's life. Just trust us." I smiled at her.

Bree P.O.V

"That's alright. You don't need to repay us for anything. If there's anything we stand for it's life. Just trust us." And Esme smiled at me, the most kindest, most gentle, most _compassionate_ smile I have ever seen. If there was someone in this world I trusted, it would have to be Esme. She just looked so ... Mothery. You just had to love Esme.

Okay. I can do this. I took a deep breath - even though I didn't need it - and stepped inside the doorway.

* * *

A few hours later, I had been showed the house, everything had been explained to me, and we were getting ready for my first hunting trip vegetarian styles. I was kinda nervous - what if I stuffed it up? I didn't want to embarass myself in front of these nice people. I was going with Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie - for support, I guess. And so I wouldn't start hunting humans. As if I _would_, when they'd just told me their life stories. Kind of. Well anyway, I wasn't gonna hurt a human after what they'd just told me. And I was sorta insulted, but then Jasper, feeling that I was upset, explained.

"We don't think that you will _intentionally_ hunt a human, but newborns don't have alot of control over their instincts, which is why they get into alot of fights. We just wouldn't want you to accidentally harm a human - you would feel terrible."

I smiled at him - a bit nervously, for sure, but I was getting used to him. "Thanks, Jasper."

He smiled back. "You're welcome. I know how it feels, when you realise you've failed your family yet _again_. I've been a part of this family for a long time, and I'm still having trouble with the temptations."

His voice got all sad and Alice popped out of nowhere and hugged him tightly. "Jazz... You have _never, _ever ever ever failed us. You just need to break some bad habits, is all. Just like Bree here."

"Maybe you can help me? We could work on it together." I realised Alice was right in a way. I just needed to break the habit of thinking of humans as food, and start thinking of them as people, with families that would miss them. So I offered Jasper my ... moral support? I couldn't stand the self-hatred he was feeling. It was so strong that it literally pulsed out of him, and we could all feel it.

"Thanks, Bree. I accept your offer of help."

Alice cheered. "Now that's sorted, lets go hunting!"

So we all piled into Emmetts massive jeep and he drove us someplace with alot of trees. We got out and he said, "I thought we should start somewhere a bit further away from Forks than the forest outside our house."

"Good thinking Em." Rosalie glided over to him and kissed his cheek. He gripped her hand and turned to me, grinning.

"So, what can you smell Little Vampire?" Little Vampire? Where did that come from? But it didn't sound like an insult, so I left it.

I sniffed in and held it. "Is it ... Deer?" It was blood, I could hear the heartbeat, but it smelt... Not as good as human blood. I made a face, and they laughed.

"Doesn't smell very appetizing, does it? Carnivors are better, it's closer to human blood, but there's only deer around here right now." Alice explained it to me. "Follow us."

I silently shadowed them to a small clearing, where a herd of deer were grazing. They didn't seem aware of the five vampires quietly watching them.

"Watch us." Jasper instructed, and they silently, gracefully snuck up on the deer and took them out without any trouble. They bit into their necks, where the vein pulsed and drained it in a short amount of time. Rosalie looked beautiful the whole time, Emmett looked like he was enjoying himself, Alices eyes had gone out of focus and Jasper still looked hungry.

"Reckon you can do it?" Emmett sounded like he was challenging me.

"Yeah. But we need some new deer - you scared the rest away." I grinned at him.

He burst out laughing and said, "I like this girl. She seems like fun."

We found a new herd of deer and I leaped upon the biggest buck and drained it. Yuck. Warm and sticky, it eased the burn, but it was _nothing_ like human blood. The flavour was all wrong. Oh well. I drained a few more - I was hungry - before we ran back to the jeep. As I got in, I looked down at myself, dismayed. There was blood everywhere! I couldn't understand how I got it on my clothes, but I suppose I must have dripped some. I'd have to practise keeping clean.

"Good job, Bree!" Alice congratulated me enthusiastically. "Are you full?"

"Yes, thanks. I feel all sloshy inside."

"Good. You won't need to hunt for another few days at least." Jasper said. "You did well."

I felt so happy. I'd gotten the hang of hunting animals, I wasn't hungry anymore and I was finally fitting in with other vampires. The only other people who'd been this nice to me, were Fred and ... Diego. I missed him so much, but I didn't dwell on him right then. I didn't want to ruin my mood.

"When we get home, will you tell us your story?" This came from Rosalie. She hadn't spoken to me much, since I went inside the house, and this question suprised me.

Rose! Don't be rude!" Alice admonished her.

"No, it's okay. I'll tell you. My human _and _vampire story. Well, as much as I can remember of it anyway."

"Thank you." Rosalie smiled at me. She really was really beautiful.

I smiled back, before leaning back in my seat, mentally preparing myself for the telling.


	4. Story Time

Bree P.O.V

It was getting dark outside when Edward and Carlisle came back from wherever they were. They both had worried looks on their faces, although I think most of it was concern.

"How is he?" Esme asked quietly.

"I had to re-break some bones and he's burning through the morphine quickly, but he'll be okay. I'd left Bella there with him when I found Edward waiting at the line." Carlisle sank into the couch next to Esme. They didn't touch or anything, but you could see the love.

I was confused. Who were they talking about? _Burning_ through the morphine?

Edward, who was still by the door, answered my thoughts.

"Jacob. He's Bella's best friend, and he got injured during the fight. He's not human, but he's not like us either. We'll explain later."

Okay, I was less confused, but more confused at the same time. I decided to let it go for now.

"Bree was just going to tell us her story." Rosalie informed them from her place next to Emmett on the stairs.

"Sit down Edward!" Alice urged him, gesturing to the sofa I was sitting on. Her and Jasper were leaning on the back of it, waiting for me to start. Edward sat down on the opposite end from me and smiled.

"Go ahead Bree. In your own time."

I took a deep breath. Relax, I told myself. They won't judge you. All of a sudden, it was important that these people understood how much I wanted to change. How sad the thought of the people I killed made me. Ready or not, here I go, I thought to myself.

Rosalie P.O.V

"I can't remember much of my human life. I just get the feeling that even though it wasn't that great, it wasn't really that bad either. I was just drifting along every day."

I listened intently as the girl talked. Something in this child called to me and I had no idea what it was. I didn't show it, but I was insanely curious about her.

"When Riley changed me, I was so scared. It _hurt._ So, so much. I thought I was going to die, Riley was some crazy guy, who'd just killed me. But then I woke up, and I thought it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I didn't think about my family or what they'd think, I just knew that I was _better_. I could see better, I could hear better, I could move so fast and I was so strong. I felt weird, drinking peoples blood at first, but then Riley changed my mind. He told us all that by just taking the dregs, the lowest sort of people, we wouldn't really be taking much from the world. And I just listened to him." Her face showed shock. Like she couldn't believe she'd thought that about human beings. Even if it was true.

"It's okay Bree," Jasper said, unexpectedly. "A lot of vampires think like that. The important thing is what you're doing _now."_

She smiled at him. "Okay. Well, life was dangerous, even in our group. We had to be careful not to anger the strong ones, or they'd tear us apart. Riley always got angry when that happened, 'coz he had to find new ones. I used to just hunt and read. I'd hide behind Fred, because no one wanted to go near him. He just kinda... Repulsed you. But I think it was intentional, like, he had powers like you guys. Fred was kinda my friend. He wanted to help me escape."

I wondered what it was like, living with people who would probably kill you if you made a mistake, or said the wrong thing. I was suddenly glad I had my family. I didn't always appreciate them, but I knew if I didn't have them, life wouldn't be very good for me right now.

Bree was going on. "I had another friend, Diego." She looked sad. "Riley had told us the stories were true, vampires burnt up in the sun, but Diego and I discovered the truth about how we sparkle. We couldn't understand why Riley would lie to us, but we decided to find out more before we asked him about it. We knew it would be dangerous, so we pretended we had nothing t do with each other, but we met when we were out hunting. We followed Riley once, and he was visiting _her._ Victoria. They were _kissing_. And then those guys in the black cloaks came and threatened them. I didn't know what to do! Diego and Riley were pretty tight, so he said he would ask Riley what was going on. I waited for him at the house, but he never came back. Riley told me he'd sent Diego on a mission thing and he'd meet us at the fight. But he wasn't there."

I felt so sorry for Bree. She looked so crushed. Maybe she loved him... I would ask, but I didn't really want to upset her more right now. I'm not usually the most tactful person, but I just couldn't do it.

So I just said, "I'm sorry Bree. But maybe he's still out there somewhere." Trying to comfort her.

But she shook her head. "I don't think so. Riley came home strange that night, and he was saying stuff about ripping people limb from limb and making you watch and help. I get the feeling he was talking about Diego."

I glanced at Edward, thinking '_Is it bad?'_ I knew Bree hadn't really forgotten the exact words Riley said. Vampires don't forget anything, I thought, slightly bitter. Just another good thing about this solitary, dormant life.

Edward nodded at me. That must hurt. Hearing exactly how your closest friend died... That would be terrible.

I became determined. I would help Bree, and I would help her to be happy again. I had something to do - that didn't involve only myself. I wasn't doing this for me. And it felt good, even though I hadn't even started. If I felt this way now, well I looked forward to completing my mission.


End file.
